2020 Was the Worst Year for Macau On Record

2020 Was the Worst Year for Macau On Record

Macau’s casino industry faced the worst year in its recorded history due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. After counting December revenues, the Asian gambling hub repotted a 79.3% drop in its revenues compared to the previous year.

Macau’s casino industry faces a downfall

The Macau casino industry posted its worst year on record after a forgettable December. According to a new report released by the Gaming Inspection & Coordination Bureau, the special administrative region of Macau generated only $938 million in the month of December. This marked a 65.8% decline from the $2.74 billion earned in December 2019. The Monthly Gross Revenue from Games of Fortune report suggests that the December figures were in line with the median analyst estimates of a 68% decline. In November, the figures were down by 70.5%.

2020 Was the Worst Year for Macau On Record

However, there is a slowdown in losses as well and the overall filling of gaps in losses since September is giving hope and optimism to the industry. However, an investor update from the Asia Pacific subsidiary of JP Morgan Securities suggested investors that the higher number of visitations in December was simply because of Christmas and holidays.

2020 was bad for Macau

The Macau region generated a revenue of MOP 292.45 billion in 2019 which slid by 79.3% in 2020 to just MOP 60.44 billion. Macau’s travel restrictions with China were removed over three months ago, but the region still struggles to attract players in its casinos. Gamblers still find the entry process very tricky and time-consuming.

The situation is getting further distressed because of a new strain of the coronavirus announced by the UK health authorities. This had made the government tighten their border restrictions because of which residents of Greater China are also finding it hard to go to the gambling hub. Macau has not reported a single new case of COVID-19 in the past 6 months. However, new infections have appeared in both Hong Kong and China. Gaming experts believe that casinos could go back to 80% of the pre-pandemic levels in 2021.

About sherlock

Sherlock Gomes loves to write and express his views on anything related to Gaming, Gambling, & Casino. He has been covering Gaming for more than two years now.